Petrobras considers selling Gulf of Mexico assets - newspaper

BRASILIA May 31 (Reuters) - Brazilian state-run oil company
Petrobras is considering selling some of its assets
in the Gulf of Mexico as part of a divestment plan to shore up
its finances, local daily Folha de S.Paulo reported on Sunday.

Petroleo Brasileiro SA, as the company is formally known,
has hired BNP Paribas to study the possible sale of
its stake in off-shore oilfields in the region, which are worth
about $8 billion, the newspaper said without citing sources.

Officials with Petrobras and BNP Paribas were not
immediately available for comment.

Facing a corruption scandal that has dragged down its market
value, Petrobras, one of the world's most indebted companies,
said in March it plans to sell as much as $13.7 billion in
assets this year and next to reduce debt and protect cash.

In 2013, Petrobras had trouble selling fields in the Gulf of
Mexico as the value of those assets fell at the time.
(Reporting by Alonso Soto; editing by Digby Lidstone)